W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Shares Purchased by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 59.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 59,115 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,095 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $3,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 47.9% in the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 18,465 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,048,000 after buying an additional 5,983 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its position in W. R. Berkley by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 14,766 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $838,000 after acquiring an additional 4,922 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 60.5% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 336,027 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $19,063,000 after purchasing an additional 126,664 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 43.3% in the third quarter. Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 64,482 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,658,000 after purchasing an additional 19,499 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 34.7% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 303,567 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $17,221,000 after purchasing an additional 78,146 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of W. R. Berkley stock opened at $64.94 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.73. The stock has a market cap of $24.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.62. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12-month low of $45.75 and a 12-month high of $65.49.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.01. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. W. R. Berkley’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 3.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 23rd. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays started coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Bank of America upped their price target on W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.22.

About W. R. Berkley

W. R. Berkley Corporation, an insurance holding company, operates as a commercial lines writers worldwide. It operates in two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance & Monoline Excess. The Insurance segment underwrites commercial insurance business, including excess and surplus lines, admitted lines, and specialty personal lines.